kaomoji

American  

[kou-moh-jee] / kaʊˈmoʊ dʒi /

noun

kaomoji, plural kaomojis plural

1. Digital Technology. a Japanese-style emoticon that uses Japanese characters, Latin letters, and punctuation marks in combination to represent a facial expression that conveys an emotion. Unlike emoticons used by English speakers that depict the face horizontally, kaomoji are vertical depictions of faces, as (^.^) smiling eyes, (^_~) a winking eye, (>.<;) a bead of sweat, or sometimes include depiction of arms, as if raised in celebration \ ^^ /.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• kaomoji
  plural
• kaomojis
  plural

Etymology

Origin of kaomoji

First recorded in 1985–90; from Japanese kao “face” + moji “(written) character”; cf. emoji ( def. )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

kaomoji kaomojis

You’ll be able to pick from a number of kaomoji, and there’s also now quick access to em dash and other symbols from the emoji picker.

From The Verge ● May 22, 2019

The kaomoji express emotions in the way emojis do, but they’re composed of standard fonts rather than being illustrated by anyone in particular.

From Slate ● Dec. 7, 2015

But Japanese emoticons—known as kaomoji, or face-text—come in a dizzying array of variations.

From Slate ● Dec. 7, 2015

With thousands now following Soya, Nakajima played her up, referring to himself with feminine pronouns and crafting flowery messages dotted with kaomojis, the little face expressions most often used by young women.

From Seattle Times ● May 16, 2021